the existence of lunar ephemerides from which one could conclude that the month

in question would be hollow. This text, as well as No. 302, is vitiated by computing
errors, several of which consist in a wrong determination of a sexagesimal place

value. Occasionally we can see from such errors how the scribe operated with
transition coefficients between adjacent zones. 3 At the end No. 301 gives a long
list of rules and parameters (ACT No. 820a) which are characteristic for System A 1.
We need not repeat the rules for the computation of longitudes for rand E

in System A 1 and for I and Q in System A 2 since the essential parameters are
listed above in II A 5, 1 C. For the convenience of actual computations these
rules can be formulated in several different ways for which cf. ACT, p. 289-297
and Aaboe [1965], p. 221.
System A3• The set of rules which we denote as System A 3 is known from the
procedure text ACT No. 816 and a peculiar "ephemeris" which gives the
longitudes of consecutive evening settings (Q) of Mercury but no dates except for
year numbers which can be shown to be the regnal years of Artaxerxes I, Darius II,

and Artaxerxes II year 1 and 2 (i.e. from -423 to -401).4

The following synodic arcs and zones constitute the basic parameters:
w1 = 1,50;56,15° from cf2 30 to 'Y' 30 thus a1 =4,0°
w2 =2,11;28,53,20 'Y'30 to ®20 a 2 = 1,20 (11)
w3 =1,45;11, 6,40 §20 to 6?30 a 3 =40.
The resulting periods are listed above p. 466 (2). The fact that two thirds of the
circle are associated with a synodic arc that differs only slightly from the mean
synodic arc (~ 1,54;12°) is reminiscent of similar arrangements for Saturn and

Jupiter in Indian astronomy. 5

For the "steps", bi=wijZ, one obtains from (2) and (11):
{)1 =0;18,45° = 5/16
{>2 =0;22,13,20= 10/27

{>3=0;17,46,40= 8/27.
(12)
The above-mentioned simplification of computing longitudes by progressing
in groups of three synodic arcs is obviously the reason that one procedure text
ACT No. 816, Section 1) mentions the following yearly decrements
(P- 3) w 1 = 16;52,30° in a 1
(P-3)w2 =20 a2 (13)

(P-3)w 3 =16 a 3
which one indeed obtains from (7), p. 468 with P= 18,39/5,55 and the above
given wi in (11).
3 Cf. ACT, p. 319, 8(3).

4 This text will be published by Aaboe-Henderson-Neugebauer-Sachs, restored from five fragments

(BM 36651 +···).The Mercury ephemeris is written on the reverse, at right angles to the writing on the
obverse (which concerns lunar eclipses). Similar writing at right angles is found with the Venus
ephemeris No. 430 and the Mars ephemeris No. 501 a, for a Mars ephemeris and solstices (AaboeSachs
[1966], p. 11 f.), and for lunar theory and a list of unexplained numbers (Neugebauer-Sachs
[1969], p. 96).
5 Cf. above p. 438.